Show Me
by LolaLot
Summary: Connor had seen humans feeling any range of emotion - despair, depression, relief, happiness - and there was no rhyme or reason. Feelings. That was all. Feelings dumped on him without warning or training when he deviated. Meeting Chloe here last weekend had been a positive feeling. Positive, negative - that was a good start, he figured. Start from there. Prompt from Tumblr


Connor sat at the edge of the pool. He waited.

The next day, he came back.

And the next - and the one after that, and the next.

Connor sat at the edge of the pool, scanning the entirety of the room. Maybe _today_ …

The next day, he sat down at the edge of the pool again. He scanned the room for the sixth time. Every day, he thought _maybe today_. Chloe wasn't here today still. Had he been wrong to assume she would come back regularly? She liked swimming - it would only make sense to come back here.

Connor shut his eyes. Yes, she would come back, but he was tired of waiting.

Why waste time when he had her serial number saved into his memory?

Connor prepared a message.

 _Good afternoon, Chloe._

He let her see the pool as he did: the blaring fake sun on the screen, the white sand surrounding the water, and, of course, the near-sparkling blue water. Perfect. As it had been engineered to be. She would like it.

Then, Connor waited again. The message shouldn't take more than a second or two to reach her.

 _Good afternoon, Connor_.

Connor scanned the room again. Still not there.

 _That's a really nice view._

Connor smiled to himself. _It is._

There was a long pause. _Was there anything you needed from me?_

Perhaps he'd caught her at a bad moment? _I want to see you again._

 _Are you there right now?_

 _Yes._

 _Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can. See you soon, Connor._

 _See you soon, Chloe_.

Connor waited. He knew he wanted to see her, but why? Deviancy was… a case he hadn't quite managed to solve yet. It felt as if he'd read the manual for being human yet had learned nothing from it but words. Words to put on feelings he could barely tell apart. Positive, negative - that was a good start, he figured. Start from there.

Meeting Chloe here last weekend had been a positive feeling. After the events of November and the chaos that ensued, she had been the first android to truly spend time _with_ him. It had been rather novel. Positives: he'd enjoyed making her smile, enjoyed smiling for her, enjoyed swimming with her - felt _positive_ afterwards. So positive he only parted ways with her on Monday morning when duty called again.

Negative - perhaps? - she had been on his mind ever since. Just… there. Distracting.

He could only interpret it as wanting to see her again. That would get rid of the unpleasant nagging in his mind. It was logical.

But _why_?

Connor had seen humans feeling any range of emotion - despair, depression, relief, happiness - and there was no rhyme or reason. _Feelings_. That was all. Feelings dumped on him without warning or training when he deviated.

"Hello, Connor."

Connor looked up at Chloe and smiled. "Hello, Chloe."

Chloe sat by his side, smiling back at him. She made small talk, detailing how her week had gone by - uneventful - and asked him about his. There was nothing much to say. Cases, Hank, Sumo, most of it had gone well and without any crisis to avert. Only solutions to apply.

"Was it a good week?"

Connor lost his smile. Frowning, he stared in the water. "Yes. I solved many cases and no major incident occurred."

Chloe chuckled, looking off into the fake sky on the screens. She looked back at him and placed her hand over his. "Let's just stay here like this a while."

Connor nodded. The tips of her fingers turned white and laid bare against his. Connor paused, watching them, then did the same.

 _Show me_.

After a moment's hesitation, Connor did as she asked. He couldn't tell her, but he could show her. It would take no more than a second, a small transfer of data.

Connor shut his eyes and connected to her.

In his mind, he could hear her laugh, see her smile, feel her touch. Her presence.

 _It's okay, Connor. You haven't been awake a long time yet. You'll figure it out._

 _Will I? Did you?_

 _I'll show you._

Chloe returned far more than he'd sent her. In the blink of an eye, he lived through months of her life, feeling her every thought and emotion as if he _was_ her. A life in a second - human time couldn't compare. It was so slow. If he so pleased, they could live an entire human's lifetime right here, right now.

Connor latched onto one set of data. What Chloe described as _happiness_.

 _This_.

 _What about it?_

Connor paused a moment. _This is why I wanted to see you._

Chloe smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

Connor returned it.

 _Are you happy, Connor?_

 _Right now… Yes. Yes, I think I'm happy. Thank you, Chloe_.


End file.
